Growing up
by Greeno
Summary: Lily is awaiting her sixth year at hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry but a tall, good looking boy with scruffy black hair won't leave her alone! James has grown in looks and maturity since she last saw him but has his ego deflated? Jily fanfic!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: all rights are j k rowlings and I own none of the sec characters air anything, everything is j k rowlings, note mine?_

_A/n: this is the first thing I've written so its not great but reviews would be appreciated as idk if this is ok or not, thanks for reading! :)_

_August 31st_. The happiest and saddest day of the summer for Lily. She smiled at the thought of boarding the hogwarts express again and going into the magical world, going to hogwarts and being surrounded by people who understood and cared for her. Images of her four best friends Alice, Emma, Marlene and Dorcas entered her mind and she smiled fondly as she would be reunited with her friends again and she would escape her prude, jealous sister Petunia. Frowning lily remembered her sister and her big, fat, horrible muggle boyfriend, Vernon dursley, whom lily had had the displeasure of meeting. The large man resembled a pig in Lily's eyes but petunia was smitten with the boy and lily was sure that her parents were not to pleased by this either. A sad smile crept upon Lily's face as she remembered why August 31st was also a sad day for her, the last night she got to spend with her parents. Joseph and Rose Evans, though both muggles, were very keen for Lily to learn magic and were extremely pleased to have a talented, young witch in the family, much to the annoyance of Petunia who deemed her a freak purely through jealously at being ordinary and her sister being capable of doing things she could only dream of. All in all lily was excitedly waiting to get to platform 9 3/4 and begin another year of magical education. And with a broad smile upon her face she fell asleep and dreamt of the the new magic she would learn, the list her imagination produced seemly endless.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, all rights to J K Rowling _

September 1st

As the gateway to platform 9 3/4 loomed into view lily felt the excitement bubble up inside of her. Closing her eyes she ran as fast as she could against the wall in between platform 9 and 10. Hearing a train whistle and the loud bustle of people she opened her eyes and couldn't contain her gasp of awe. The same gasp she let out everytime she saw the hogwarts express standing proudly ahead of her. She heard a squeal behind her and turned to come face to face with her best friend, Alice. She had missed her friends so much this summer that she flung herself into her friends open arms and relished in being back with her again. It was only then that Lily clocked there was someone else their so pulling away from the hug she looked to her right to see Frank Longbottom, Alice's boyfriend, standing there with a huge hrin on his face. 'Hey Lily!' Frank said merrily and Lily gave him a big hug too, speaking into his shoulder she said 'hey Frank, it's good to see you again!'. Then Lily whipped her head around as someone shouted her name. Looking through the steadily growing crowd she found the source of the noise and scowled. James ruddy Potter was waving at her and making his way across the platform and within seconds he was by her side. 'Hey Evans if your giving out free hugs I wouldn't mind one' James said giving Lily one of his most charming, lopsided grins. Taking in his appearance Lily realised something, Potter had changed over the summer and be looked..handsome? Handsome! James Potter handsome! Lily shook her head and told herself off scathingly then turned to James and glared at him,'Shove off Potter, as if I would ever hug you!' she spat at him, a look of disgust gracing her usually gentle features. James's smile faltered and she saw the glimmer leave his eyes then as soon as it left it came back and Lily was wondering if she had imagined it or not. James shook his head slowly and spoke softly, the arrogant air his voice usually had nowhere to be seen 'can't blame a guy for trying' and with a half hearted smile he turned on his heel and marched back over to Sirius. Lily watched him leave puzzled and then turned around and saw Melody, Mary and Dorcas chatting with Alice. She then greeted them all and gave them all bear hugs and joined their conversation, unaware that across the platform James was staring at her as her words echoed through his ears, 'as if I would ever hug you...'. But those thoughts were momentarily shaken from his mind as everyone began boarding the train and he had to swiftly get through the crowds to reach the marauders compartment. Just as he was about to board the train he looked down the train and brown met green as his locked eyes with Lily and he heart began to melt. He loved her so much but she detested him, he would have to change that though, and soon. Then Sirius pushed him onto the train and the connection was broken.

_Hey guys I would really appreciate it if you reviewed so I knew how to improve, thank you!_


	3. Chapter 3

Lily sat in her compartment with her friends and listened as they laughed and joked about and tried to laugh at the appropriate times but she wasn't really listening. What she was thinking about was the connection she had felt with James as she had boarded the train and how empty she felt once the connection was lost. It was only once everyone had stopped talking and all her friends were staring at her that Lily pulled herself from her thoughts and engaged herself in the conversation. It was only Alice who noticed the difference in her best friend and how her eyes were not sparkling as brightly as they usually did and were a dull green compared to the usual bright emerald, a sign that she was in deep thought, and took a mental note to enquire what was on her friend's mind when they were alone. Beaming at Lily she tried to pick up the conversation again and soon the compartment was filled with joyful laughter again.

Meanwhile in the marauders compartment evil schemes had already started to form. They were just finalising the details of their big opening prank which was to be preformed at the feast and other less grand prank ideas when Sirius stopped to look at James. Though engaged in the conversation Sirius knew there was something wrong, he knew James better then his own brother and knew that something was troubling him. He could tell by the way James was not being as loud as usual and instead of constantly ruffling his messy hair he just left it to cover half his face. This was something James usually did when he was trying to hide his emotions. Reminding himself to ask James about it later, Sirius turned back to Remus to continue his pleading to borrow his homework. Remus was definitely not budging and when he had finally had enough of saying no to Sirius he stood and excused himself to go attend the prefects meeting. James did not even raise his head as he felt himself fill with jealously that Remus got to spend time with Lily and yet he was constantly rejected by her. HIM! The irresistible James Potter was being ignored by the only girl he truly felt anything for it killed him inside every time he saw her. And it was worse because he knew that Remus was leaving early to go pick up Lily from her compartment on the way because the pair had grown quite close due to both being Gryffindor prefects yet was not saying so he did not upset James and that just enraged him more. Trying to subdue his anger and pain James lifted his head defiantly and pushed back his hair and began a conversation with Peter on what was better, Cauldron cakes or Pumpkin pasties whilst Sirius left to go seek out some poor, unfortunate girl. James was the only one who knew that Sirius loved Mary and all these other girls were just fillers, as were his own girlfriends. Though James did not get bored quite as quickly as Sirius and he only went for single girls. Sirius would never learn and with that thought James chuckled and began attacking Peter again who eventually gave up, as always, and began eating a chocolate frog.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: All rights to J K Rowling_

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The train had arrived at Hogwarts and it was a brilliant evening, the castle looked magnificent. It was illuminated brightly and stuck out in contrast to the dark nights sky behind it and the hundreds of stars littering the sky sparkled and the first years gasped in delight. Every time Lily saw this view her breath caught and this time in particular the stars seemed to be shining brighter then usual and she stood there to bask in its beauty until she had to tear away from the sight and move with the rapidly growing crowds pushing her towards the carriages. Looking around Lily realised she couldn't see her friends anywhere but by this time she was already at the front of the queue and was pushed into a carriage. As she stumbled into the carriage she stopped when she hit something very solid and fell to the floor. Looking up she saw the handsome face of Sirius Black and groaned. Of all the carriages to be pushed into it HAD to be the marauders but she was torn from her thoughts when she felt strong arms lifting her onto the seat as she squealed in alarm. The carriage filled with laughter at Lily's little outburst and she turned to glare at the boys and came face to face with James and jumped so high she almost fell over again. Regaining her composure she shuffled to the edge of the seat and turned away from the boys who were still snickering in amusement. Once they reached the castle Lily practically flung herself out of the carriage and hurried towards the caste steps where her friends were searching for her and joined them in entering the great hall for the start of term feast.

James watched as Lily's auburn hair disappeared from the carriage and hurried out after her only to see her rushing off to her friends. Sirius got off after him and clapped him on the back and brought him out of his trance and the four of them made their way up to the castle going over their plans for the start of term prank which had become a tradition at the school. From first year the four of them had managed to cause some kind of disturbance and as they had grown so had the audacity of their pranks, getting grander and greater as they progressed through their education. This year would be no disappointment that was for sure..

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_Please review and give me advice on how to improve my writing :) Also if you like my story please follow and favourite it! :) _


	5. Chapter 5

Dumbledore stood to give his usual beginning of term speech once the last few golden platters vanished from view. The hall immediately became silent and every student turned to face the head master, each and every one of them giving him their undivided attention. Clearing his throat lightly he glanced over at the Gryffindor table, at the four boys known as the marauders to be precise, and then began his extravagant speech outlining all the rules and wishing them all the best of luck in their new academic year whilst welcoming the first years. Once Dumbledore had finished his speech everyone turned to look at the marauders, waiting for their usual prank, and the boys just all smiled and waved back. The silence became uncomfortable and when it appeared that the boys were not going to do anything Dumbledore asked the prefects to led the new first years to their respective common rooms. The first to stand was a fifth year Ravenclaw prefect and when they did there was a burst of blue smoke. Everyone turned to stare at the girl and found that her robes were a beautiful shade of blue that matched her eyes and made her look stunning. Looking down at herself she gasped and her jaw dropped, she loved them! Everyone watched on envious of the girl's brilliant robes and it was only when the girl pulled her friend to her feet and there was anther burst of smoke did they realise that it happened when they stood. This girls robes where a darker blue and looked greater against her darker complexion. Suddenly there were many bursts of green. blue, yellow and red across the hall as everyone began to get to their feet and there was many gasps of awe heard throughout the hall and then suddenly the teachers rose and they were surprised when they too were engulfed in multicoloured smoke and emerged with robes in the colour of their house. Dumbledore and McGonagall looked overjoyed as did the rest of the students and Dumbledore rose to the podium again and the hall became quiet once again. Laughing heartily Dumbledore turned to the boys and congratulated them on their very advanced magic! Grinning the boys high fived each other and then out of the corner of his eye James saw lily in a light red robes that made her dazzle and he felt himself blush when he realised how blatantly obvious he was being. Turning to the others he said 'Ready?' and when they nodded they all discretely waved their wands in a complex pattern towards the ceiling. The next thing they knew small glittering balls like miniature stars fell from the pure black night sky and began settling everywhere, not burning or harming anyone but making the great hall look spectacularly beautiful and then as if a giant sparkler was being used the words 'brought to you by messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs' appeared in mid air in bright, sparkly gold. The overall effect was truly amazing, all the four tables glimmering with gold fairy like dust and bright in the colour of the house and the words still sparkling with mini pops and burst every once in a while. Suddenly the hall burst out in applause all of which was directed towards the the four boys who grinned happily and bowed to the crowds. But James could not keep his eyes off of Lily. She looked beautiful. With pieces of shimmering golden scattered throughout her hair and on her robes and the look of glee gracing her features James thought he had never seen something so beautiful and wished he had a camera. Little did he realise that everyone was noisily making their way out the of the great hall and the next thing he knew he was being dragged by Sirius to Gryffindor tower.

Lily POV

The feast had just finished and Lily was feeling as happy as ever, she was back at Hogwarts with her beloved friends and had just some amazing food. As Dumbledore stood Lily stopped her conversation with Alice and turned towards him to give him her full attention. She noticed him look towards the Marauders and she felt herself anticipating their yearly prank. Scolding herself for being so silly she turned back top Dumbledore who began talking. After his usual speech she turned with everyone else in the hall towards the marauders, waiting for their prank but was met only by their grinning faces. After it became clear nothing was happening Dumbledore told the prefects to escort the first years to their common rooms and Lily thought he sounded quite disappointed and she could tell many people were feeling so. She was about to stand when a pop and a burst of blue smoke stopped her. Turning towards the Ravenclaw table she saw blue smoke dissipating to reveal a girl in the most brilliant bright blue robes and she gasped. They looked truly glorious on her and then there was another pop next to her and Lily saw that her friend also know had blue robes. Understanding that this meant that if she stood her robes would also change she stood along with other sand slowly more and more people stood. When the smoke around her dissipated she saw that her robes had been turned a light red so they did not clash with her hair and she loved them! Chatting with her friends and others around her she saw that the teachers robes had also changed and she thought everyone looked wonderful. When Dumbledore arose to the platform again silence fell and everyone stared at him intently as he congratulated the boys. Suddenly from the sky beautiful shimmering gold flakes fell and landed everywhere and to Lily the scene was beautiful, the great hall and everyone in it coated in a light dusting of gold, the bright, different coloured robes on each table and the joyful faces seen all across the hall. This was magic at its finest and it was clear the growing war outside had been vanished from everyone's minds. The message 'brought to you by messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs' glittered in mid air and Lily gazed around her one last time, mesmerised and then began to leave with her friends. She was aware that James had been watching her for quite some time and as she was walking away she turned and saw him still staring after her and she shot him her most dazzling smile before turning on her heal and heading away with her friends, the smile still set upon her face and she engaged herself in the conversation again and soon her sweet laughter was heard echoing off the walls.


	6. Chapter 6

_All rights to J K Rowling_

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Lily POV:

"LILY WAKE UP!" yelled Emma as she pulled Lily's blanket away.

"EUGH FINE!" I yelled back as I sprang out of bed, grabbed my uniform and stormed into the bathroom.

I turned the shower on and steeped into the scorching water. I love magic! The water is instantly hot, no waiting around for it to warm up like with the shower at home. I used my scrumptious strawberry shampoo&shower gel, I smell fab! I quickly got dressed and brushed my teeth, walking out the bathroom whilst plaiting my hair in a long side plait.

"Wow how do you get ready so quickly! You took like 15 minutes and you still manage to look gorgeous!" exclaimed Marlene

"Well you know, it comes naturally" I winked cheekily then grabbed my bag and began walking to the common room "As if you can talk anyway Marls, you wake up in the morning looking like a supermodel!" It's true, Marlene was naturally beautiful and waas the envy of all the girls.

"Hey wait up! We waited for you and then you just leave without us, rude. Anyway I do not!" Marlene huffed indignantly.

"Yes you do" the we chorused, then we looked at each other and burst out laughing. We were at the great hall and ! walked in still giggling, I couldn't stop! We walked to our usual spot and I sat down with Marlene on my right and Emma on my left and Dorcas and Alice across from us. I grabbed an apple and happily started to munch on it when I realised my friends were staring at me open mouthed

"What?" I asked when I saw their shocked expressions

"You did not just willing eat an apple!" Emma exclaimed and continued staring at me

"Close your mouth, you look like a goldfish!" she closed her mouth with a frown. "Yes I am eating an apple, and I WAS enjoying it until you all rudely interrupted me!" I turned back to my apple and took another bite whilst looking for a knut to give to the owl in front of me which had just delivered the daily prophet. Putting the money in the owls pouch i turned back to my friends.

"Lily, queen of bacon, since when have you eaten fruit? AND for breakfast! Your not on a diet are you? You better not be or I will kill you!" Alice yelled at me.

Oh my godric people are starting to stare! "Keep your voice down will you! And I can have whatever I want for breakfast! But if you must know I just fancied an apple, I HAVE been trying to eat healthier but that doesn't mean I'm on a diet!" I self consciously pull my cardigan around my slim figure "BUT if it will shut you up then here!" I grabbed a piece of bacon of Emma's plate, took a bite, then put it back down. "Happy now!?"

"EW you did not just bite that then put it back on her plate!" A first year, Julie I think, squealed.

"Erm yeah I did problem? She's eating it isn't she?"I asked as I gestured to Emma who was munching on her half eaten piece of bacon and she looked up and smiled joyously. The first year turned away in disgust and I just shrugged and took another bite out of my apple.

"Here are your timetables" McGonagall said as she handed out our timetables

"Thanks" I said as I took my timetable looked at my lessons today, Double potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology and a free period. I smiled happily, YAY! Once I had quickly looked over my timetable I handed it to Marlene who was comparing them all.

"YAY Lily we have all the same lessons! And we have some the same as Emma but Alice you and Dorcas are only in a few classes with us!" Marlene said as she handed us back our respective timetables. I stood up, "C'mon guys we should be going, we have to go all the way to potions first. Dorcas did you really have to shove all that in your mouth? We could have waited for you for a few seconds!" I say as Dorcas nods and gathers her things.

"Oi Evans!"I hear someone shout from further down the table and I turn to see where the noise was coming from. James Potter of course. He ran his hand through his hair as he made his way over to me and I felt nervous. WHAT I did not just say I was nervous to talk to Potter!

"SOO what lesson you going to Evans? Potions by any chance?" James asked and threw me a lopsided grin. I just nodded in reply. "Oh well we have that next so we'll down with you guys" he said as he turned around and gestured for the others to come.

"Okay, I guess.." I trailed off as my girls and the rest of the marauders came over. "Lets go then" I said as I pulled my bag up my shoulder and turned around and began walking to potions with everyone following. I heard footsteps and turned to see James staring down at me with his lopsided smile and I felt strange, but happy.

"I see the summer has treated you well Evans, you look gorgeous as ever." I felt myself blush and looked down, not wanting him to see me embarrassed.

"Oh, erm, thanks I guess erm yeah" I mumbled out. Lily you are such a loser! I was saved from embarrassing myself further as we entered the classroom and I walked over to my usual place at the front with the girls and James left with the boys for the back row. I sat down and could feel him staring at me but made myself face forward and listen to what Slughorn was saying. Something about some potion, Amortentia, a love potion I read about in like 3rd year. Though I tried I noticed I found it really hard to focus and I had hardly any notes, oops. I cannot get distracted, my school work is important, I cannot maintain my straight O's if I let silly people like James Potter distract me.

The rest of the day I tried really hard to listen and do the work but it turns out Potter is in all my lessons. Every single one. I have a feeling this year is going to be really eventfully, great..


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